3 Inspiring Dynamics 365/AX Case Studies: Proving There Is Hope for Your Dynamics Project

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Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) environments are not simple,

and Microsoft Dynamics AX and Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply

Chain Management are no exceptions. Implementations, upgrades,

and support projects can be a challenge and do not always go as

planned. If your project is off track and you are unsure how to get it

back on track, you are not alone.

In this short eBook, we have compiled three unique companies that

have had projects fall off track and engaged enVista to help right

the ship. Each company, in some fashion, was not getting what it

needed from its current Dynamics Partner and approached enVista

for a second opinion.

In order to protect our client’s privacy, we will keep each case study

anonymous. Each case study explores the challenges, solutions

enVista recommended and deployed, and the results of the projects.

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Having Trouble With a Current Microsoft Dynamics AX or Dynamics 365 Project? enVista Can Help.

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SolutionInitially, enVista jumped in and provided much needed Dynamics AX 2009 support and performed a

System Health Check.

A System Health Check is a comprehensive analysis of your business systems to

identify problems that can slow system performance and provide recommendations for

improvements. A System Health Check should follow a multi-pronged approach including:

1. Analysis of Goals: What are your organization’s goals and objectives?

2. Identification of Challenges: What are the resources/processes that may impact

users from taking full advantage of the system?

3. System Audit: What are potential problems with configurations, workflows, custom

coding and interface logic?

4. Recommendations: How to get the most out of the system to meet current goals

and objectives?

Secondly, enVista implemented Dynamics 365 Customer Service to allow direct integration to Company

A’s telephony system, which automatically populates customer information when receiving calls. Now

Customer Service Representatives can quickly see the caller’s motor-home make/model/year and other

relevant information, such as warranty claims and repair history. Additionally, a knowledge base of typical

repairs is available for a look-up in order to triage easy resolutions. Customer Service Representatives

can now close the order without having to go into the Field Service application. Customer Service

Representatives can generate a work order within seconds and automatically have it sent to the Field

Service Team for next steps.

Next, enVista implemented Dynamics 365 Field Service to reduce the manual effort required to track the

flow of work orders, scheduling, processing, and closing out. This ensures that all required inventory parts

are available for the Field Technicians when they arrive to fix a motor-home and can perform the service

and close the work order once complete.

Lastly, a Dynamics 365 Upgrade Assessment was conducted to determine the roadmap for moving from

Dynamics AX 2009 to Dynamics 365 to help prepare for migration. The assessment included timeline,

scope, and effort required, as well as an ISV inventory and all customizations and whether they are needed

in Dynamics 365.

LEADING MOTOR-HOME BRAND

Company Overview

Company A is a leading motor-home brand in North America and greatly impacts the industry by

producing nearly one out of every four motor-homes sold each year. Company A was formed as a result of

a strategic merger of two other leading motor-home brands. This consolidation solidified Company A as

the #1 retailer selling motor-homes and market leader.

ChallengeCompany A approached enVista when it was having performance issues with its Microsoft Dynamics AX

2009 environment and could not get the support it needed from its former Microsoft Dynamics Partner.

It was experiencing support issues and slow response times and needed quicker resolutions. In addition,

Company A was looking for a Dynamics Partner that was well versed in Dynamics 365, specifically with

experience in designing an upgrade from Dynamics AX to Dynamics 365.

Furthermore, Company A’s Customer Service Representatives were using manual processes to triage

customer calls. In addition, the work order creation process for Field Technicians was long, inefficient, and

prone to human error. Field Technicians had manual processes for receiving work orders and scheduling,

and schedules were not optimized based on proximity of customer work orders. Lastly, parts and inventory

were not always available when Field Technicians arrived, resulting in long customer response times,

inefficient scheduling, and overall poor customer service.

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Results

As a result of enVista stepping in and reviving the project, enVista was able to optimize Company A’s

Dynamics AX 2009 environment, while also increasing speed of the system. Furthermore, all manual

processes for customer and field service were automated or improved with technology. Additionally,

enVista optimized performance to ensure the system was ready to upgrade to Dynamics 365. Currently,

enVista is implementing Microsoft Dynamics CRM applications, including Customer Service and Field

Service, and a complete upgrade is scheduled to follow the current CRM project.

Summary• Insufficient and slow support from former Dynamics Partner

• Resolved Dynamics AX 2009 performance issues

• Improved customer service experience by reducing manual work

• Improved management of field service, including scheduling, processing, and more

PROMINENT REGENERATIVE MEDICINE COMPANY

Company OverviewCompany B was founded in 1985 and is a leading regenerative medicine company. Company B focuses

on empowering healing and specializes in advanced wound care and surgical and sports medicine.

Company B develops, manufactures, and sells its products providing options to clinicians.

ChallengeCompany B approached enVista for assistance on its Microsoft Dynamics 365 upgrade project. Company B

was a long-time user of Dynamics AX 2009 and had a heavily customized environment. Company B worked

with several Dynamics Partners and did not have a consistent consulting staff on its Dynamics 365 upgrade.

Additionally, it suffered from a revolving door of new staff on the project that always needed to get up to

speed. Company B wanted a dedicated staff to help with its upgrade and reached out to enVista.

Solution

Initially, enVista was brought in to lead data migration efforts for Company B’s Dynamics AX 2009 to

Dynamics 365 upgrade. Due to positive feedback from the initial engagement, Company B wanted to

explore bringing enVista on as its dedicated Dynamics Partner for the remaining project.

enVista’s approach focused on education of Dynamics 365 capabilities and minimizing system

enhancements. Before enVista stepped in, the client was not exposed to new system functionality and

it could not make decisions based on industry/system best practices. Company B’s previous Dynamics

Partner had over 30 planned customizations that enVista replaced with base Dynamics 365 functionality.

ResultsAs a result, Company B saw a huge reduction in customizations and started efficiently using Dynamics 365’s

out-of-the-box functionality. Additionally, Company B developed strong relationships and communication

with enVista and now there is an open-door policy. Lastly, the company was able to take advantage of new

warehouse and pricing efficiencies utilizing a combination of Advanced Warehousing features in Dynamics

365 and enVista’s enHanced Pricing Management solution.

Summary

• Provided a dedicated project team

• Replaced 30 customizations with D365 base functionality

• Created new warehouse efficiencies with D365 Advanced Warehousing

• Created new pricing efficiencies with enVista’s enHanced Pricing Management solution

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Company Overview

Company C is a leading American food-service distributor founded in 1989. Company C partners with

approximately 300,000 restaurants and food-service operators and has 70 stores across the United States.

Additionally, Company C owns and operates wholesale restaurant supply stores, providing a unique way

to shop and save on wholesale food and restaurant supply equipment.

ChallengeWhen Company C approached enVista, it was suffering from very slow system performance after a

problematic Dynamics 365 implementation, inhibiting productivity and customer experience. Additionally,

it had integrations to its parent company’s financial system and had a variety of system enhancements that

did not follow best practices. Based on the challenges it was experiencing, Company C did not feel like

it was getting the expertise it needed from its current Dynamics Partner. When enVista was brought in,

enVista provided a consulting team to evaluate all aspects of the company’s system, including, technical

architecture, system enhancements, and functional configurations.

SolutionAt the beginning of the project, enVista provided a functional and technical assessment of the company’s

Dynamics 365 system. enVista prepared a detailed Findings and Recommendations Report and shared it

with Company C’s IT leadership team. Upon completion of the assessment, enVista resolved small system

issues that resulted in a drastic improvement in system performance. The most notable improvement was

its end-of-day batch jobs from the company’s retail locations, which were reduced from one to two hours

per job down to 15 minutes. Company C is currently working with enVista to resolve high priority items

that resulted from the assessment.

Additionally, a large portion of the project focused on Dynamics 365 and business process best practices

and education. For example, enVista reviewed Company C’s current integrations and provided a detailed

roadmap on how to improve the integrations for long-term success and growth. Some planned system

enhancements were eliminated, and enVista recommended replacing them with third-party solutions.

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TOP AMERICAN FOOD-SERVICE DISTRIBUTOR

ResultsAs a result of the project, Company C is experiencing improvement in system performance and has a

long term strategy for success. Moreover, the project is ongoing and continues to resolve more issues and

improve the user experience and knowledge of Dynamics 365. In addition, Company C is more familiar

with Dynamics 365 and business process best practices, such as Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable,

General Ledger, and Procurement.

Summary• Provided Findings and Recommendations Report to IT leadership

• Resolved high priority issues resulting from report

• Improved overall system performance

• Educated client on D365 and business process best practices

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Stop struggling with your Microsoft Dynamics project. enVista has helped many companies just like yours

identify project roadblocks, create a plan, and take a corrective course of action. Additionally, if you just

want another opinion on a current project, we are happy to provide recommendations and educate you

on best practices. To talk to us about a Dynamics project, schedule a consultation with our in-house

Microsoft Dynamics experts.

Stop struggling with your Microsoft Dynamics project. We are here to help.

enVista is a leading global software solutions and consulting services firm enabling mid-market and

Fortune 100/5000 manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and healthcare providers to drive customer

engagement and revenue. enVista is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, specializing in the Microsoft

Dynamics 365 suite of products, including Finance, Supply Chain Management, Sales, Marketing, Field

Service, and Customer Service, the Microsoft Power Platform, including Power BI, PowerApps, and Power

Automate, along with many other Microsoft Azure services to support Business Intelligence, Custom

Application Development and Integration Services.

enVista’s clients benefit from a single partner with expertise in a wide range of Microsoft capabilities

and that can address all their ERP and IT requirements. enVista has been awarded multiple accolades

including recognition as an Inc. 500|5000 List Fastest Growing Companies eight years in a row from 2011

– 2018. enVista has also been recognized by SupplyChainBrain 100, CRN Tech Elite Solution Provider and

Indianapolis Top Places to Work.

Let’s have a conversation.™

info@envistacorp.com | envistacorp.com

About enVista